Top packer for oil or gas wells.



J. C. STINSON, TOP PAGKER FOR OIL 0R GAS WELLS.

APPLICATION FILED APB.11, 1912.

Patented Nov. 4, 1913.

n W ,ll/41 JAMES c. sTINsoN, or BRADFORD, PENNSYLVANIA.

TOP PACKER FOR OIL 0R GAS WELLS.

Application filed April 11, 1912. Serial No. 689,973.

To all whom it may concern.'

-Be it known that I, JAMES C. STiNsoN, citizen of the United States, residing at Bradford, in the count-y of McKean and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Top Packers for Oil or Gas Wells, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to packers for oil, gas and other deep wells and has special reference to the top packer, the object of the invention being to provide a packer which may be easily removed from the well when occasion requires, and which may be readily and rapidly located at the proper point in the well and expanded to cut off the water tending to collect therein. This general object, and other incidental objects which will appear as the description proceeds, are at:- tained in a structure of the type illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement which will be hereinafter first fully described and then more particularly pointed out in the claims following the description.

In the drawing Figure 1 is avert-ical i section of a well having my improved packer therein; Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail section of the upper packer, the parts being 'in the relative positions occupied when the device is being lowered; Fig. 3 is an elevation of the upper packer, the dotted lilies indicating the positions of the parts after the packer is in position.

The oil or other deep well, 1, is illustrated in the drawing as having a casing 2 resting on an annular shoulder formed in the well. It frequently happens that leakage occurs around this annular shoulder and below the end of the casing, so that water tends to collect in the well, such condition obviously being objectionable. To prevent this water collecting at the bo-ttom of the well and lowering the quality of the product, a packer is employed by which the water will bey confined and prevented from flowing downward in the well. These conditions are also liable to occur through corrosion forming openings or leaks in the casing 2, and my improved packer can be used to overcome the disadvantages of a leak in the casing as well as a crevice in the wall of the well.

The upper packer 3 and the lower packer 4 are connected by tubing 5 and are simultaneously lowered into the Well. The packer Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 4, 1913.

body or central tube 6 of the lower packer is screwed onto the connecting tube 5, and a rubber sleeve 7 fits around the said body or 'tube 6 between a shoulder 8 at the upper end of the said packer body, while the packer is beinlr lowered into the well.

After the packer has been lowered to the proper depth, a. weight is dropped through the tubing to which the packer is connected, and the said weight breaks the disk, so that it will dro-p from the packer body (i and thereby release the spring 13, whereupon the expansion of the said spring will throw the wedge arms 10 into engagement with the wall of the well or the casing therein, as will be readily understood. 'I his construction and operation of the lower packer is well known and is not claimed as a-part of my invention, being shown and described herein in order to give a more complete underl standing of my particular improvements.

To the upperend of the connecting tube 5, I secure a collar or coupling 15, the upper extremity of which is screwed onto the upper packer body 16, a rubber sleeve 17 being placed upon thesaid packer body 16 and resting upon the upper edge of the said collar 15. A loose ring or collar 18 is fitted upon the packer body 16 and rests upon the upper edge of the rubber sleeve 17, the inner periphery of the said collar or ring 18 being beveled, as shown at 19, and the upper end of the collar 15 being oppositely beveled, as shown at 20, whereby when the said collars are caused to engage the elastic sleeve to radially expand the same, the ends of said sleevewill be compressed firmly against the packer body and securely held.

Slidably and looselyftted upon the packer body, above the loose ring or collar 18, is an extension sleeve 21 which is provided with an internal annular shoulder 2 2 at its lower end engaging the surface of the packer body, and within the said extension sleeve a stop collar 23 is secured'upon the extremity of the packer body, the lower end of the said stop collar constituting an abutment or an nular shoulder which may be engaged by the annular shoulder 22 of the extension sleeve.

At diametrically opposite points of this stopV said slot is constructed with a series of notches 26 and intervening upwardlyprojecting teeth 27, as sho-wn clearly in Fig. 3.

It will be observed that in the particular embodiment illustrated in the drawing, three teeth 27 are shown and the lowest of these teeth is considerably wider than the other two. This is due to the fact that the said lowermost toothv is constructed with an enlarged or expanded head 28 thereby presenting a concave surface on both its upper and lower edges. The end walls of the slot 25 converge toward the toothed wall the said end walls merging into the end notches.

A left-hand screw-thread 29 is formed in the bore of the extension sleeve at the upper end of the same, and this screw-thread is engaged by the lower end of a string of tubing, indicated at 30, when the packer is being lowered into the well.

In lowering the packer into the Well, the lugs 24 are engaged in the lowest notches 26 in the extension sleeve, the upward inclination of the lower ends of the slots callsing the lugs to ride readily upward into said notches, and by reason of the engagement of said lugs behind the flared or inclined heads of the lowest teeth 27, the packer will be supported upon the lower ends of the the tubing will set the bottom packer without disturbing the top packer. The string of tubing by which the packer was lowered in the well is given a partial turn to disengage the lugs 24 from the lowest notches 26 in the extension sleeve, and the weight of the string of tubing will then 'at once cause the same, with the extension sleeve attached thereto, to drop so that the extension sleeve will rest upon the loose ring or collar 18 and the said ring will transmit the weight to the elastic sleeve 17 and expand the same against the wall of the well or of the casing therein, as shown in Fig. 1 and in dotted lines in Fig. 3, so that the water will be confined between thetwo packers.

Ordinarily, the Weight of the string of tubing will be sufficient to fully expand the sleeve 17 so as to set the packer. -llf the weight of the tubing, however, should not properly expand the packer sleeve, any convenient device may be engaged in the upper end of the tubing so as to force the same down until the proper expansion has been obtained, after which the tubing is rotated so as to bring the lugs into upper notches 26, whereupon the upturned ends of the teeth 27 will prevent' the accidental escape of the lugs from the notches.

Suflicient radial expansion of the elastic sleeve having been obtained to hold the packer firmly in the desired location and to effectually prevent the water passing into the tubing, the string of tubing by which the packer was lowered is rotated so that its threaded engagement with the extension sleeve 21 will be released, and the string of tubing may then be lifted from the well. Should the flow of water cease or the well be abandoned, or for any other reason the withdrawal of the packer is necessary, or desirable, the string of tubing is again lowered and then rotated so as to engage the eX- tension sleeve, 21, and the string of tubing and the extension sleeve then turned to disengage the said sleeve from the stop collar, after which an upward pull is exerted on the string of tubing so as to bring the shoulder 22 against the lower end of the stop collar, whereby the continuance of the liftingupull will withdraw the packer from the we Should the packer stick, so'as to resist withdrawal, a repetition of short upward jerks will cause the shoulder 22 to exert a jarring action upon the packer through its contact with the lower end of the stop ring, and this jarring will soon "work both packers loose from the well, so that the entire device maythen be Withdrawn.

lt will be readily seen from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanyingr drawing, that my device is exceedingly simple in its construction and operation, and that it will be found highly eficient in use. threaded to the stop collar or to the packer body, so that binding between these parts, after the packer has been left in the well for a long` period, will not occur, and the withdrawal of the packer will be more expeditiously accomplished than has heretofore been possible.

While lowering the device in the well, the lugs 24 are engaged in the lowest notches 26, as shown in full lines in Fig. 3, so that any tendency of the sleeve to move longitudinally relative to the stop collar is overcome and premature expansion of the elastic sleeve cannot occur. Consequently, the top packer cannot stick in the well as it is being lowered to its position therein and will not The extension sleeve is not be expanded until after the lower packer has been set. After the elastic sleeve has been expanded, the extension sleeve is turned to again engage the lugs 24 in the adjacent notches 26 before the string of tubing is Withdrawn and the release of the expansion sleeve is thus prevented. It will thus be seen that the said lugs constitute supports for the packer While lit is being lowered and also form a lock, in connect-ion with the notches, to hold the elastic sleeve expanded against the well or the casing therein. Moreover, the said lugs and notches not only provide a Wide range of adjustment but furnish a Very simple means for quickly obtaining the desired adjustment. ing the stop-collar 23 as an abutment against which the shoulder may act in jarring the device loose prior to its Withdrawal, I avoid y all liability of cutting or breaking off the lugs or projections 24 and thereby destroying the usefulness of the device.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is 1. In packers for deep wells, the combination with a lower packer, of a tube rising therefrom and rigid therewith, an upper packer body rigid with the upper end of said tube, an elastic sleeve around said packer body, lan annular shoulder on said body above the elastic sleeve, an extension sleeve slidably mounted on the packer body and adapted to expand the elastic sleeve, said extension sleeve having an internal annular shoulder adapted to impinge, ,upwardly against the annular shoulder o-n the packer body, and means to effect an adjustable engagement between the packer body and the extension sleeve.

2. In a packer for deep Wells, the combination of a packer body, an elastic sleevev thereon, an extension sleeve loosely mounted upon theupper end of the packer body and adapted to exert an expanding force upon the elastic sleeve, a lateral projection at the By utilizv upper end of the packer body, and a plurality of teeth on the extension sleeve adapted to be engaged by said projection.

3. In a packer for deep wells, the combination of a packer body, an 'elastic sleeve thereon, a lateral vprojection on the upper end of the packer body, and an extension sleeve loosely fitted upon the packer body and adapted to exert an expanding force upon the elastic sleeve, said extension sleeve being provided with a longitudinal series of inclined teeth adapted to engage the lateral projection on the packer body.

4. In a packer for deep wells, the combination of a packer body, an elastic sleeve thereon, a lateral projection at the upper end of the packer body, and an extension sleeve loosely fitted on the packer body and adapted to exert an expanding force upon the elastic sleeve, said extension sleeve being provided with a longitudinal slot engaging said lateral projection, one Wall of said slot having a series of upwardly inclined teeth projecting therefrom to engage the said lateral projection.

5. In a packer for deep wells, the combination of a. packer body, an elastic sleeve thereon, a lateral projection at the upper end of the packer body, and an extension sleeve slidably mounted upon the packer body and,

adapted to exert 'an expanding force against the elastic sleeve. the said extension sleeve being provided with a longitudinal slot engaging the said lateral projection and having a series of teeth formed on one Wall of said slot, the lowermost tooth having an expanded head and the lower end of the slot being inclined upwardly toward the said tooth.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

JAMES C. STINSON. Witnesses:

J. D. YOAKLEY, SAMUEL N. ACKER. 

